Saint Malo the largest corsair city of the 16th and 17th centuries

Saint Malo the largest corsair city of the 16th and 17th centuries

On my way from Dinan to Mont Saint Michel, I stopped a few hours at Saint Malo, The largest “corsair” (privateer) city of the 16th and 17th centuries. The commune of Saint-Malo is located in the north-east of Brittany, on the coast of the English Channel and on the right bank of the estuary of Rance. It is located 18 km north of Dinan.

The first thing I did when I arrived in Saint-Malo was, of course, to explore the ramparts surrounding the city for two kilometers; The Saint-Vincent and Saint-Thomas doors accentuate their imposing character. The ramparts almost for me alone, a magnificent sunset on Fort National, the islands of Grand Be and Petit Be and on the famous breakwaters: a treat for an amateur photograph. I recommend this walk which remains very pleasant and easy access !!

Saint Malo is the city of explorers.

from 1534 to 1542 Jacques Cartier had doubled the road of the Terres-Neuves and discovered Canada.

Gouin de Beauchesne confronted Cape Horn in 1701, Mahe de la Bourdonnais colonized the Mascareignes and took Madras, Maupertuis departed Lapland in 1736 to measure the shape of the Earth. The corsairs harassed the enemy merchant and military navies, such as Duguay-Trouin, and later Surcouf.

Saint Malo the largest corsair (privateer) city …

A privateer is a person (usually the shipowner, master or crew member of an armed civilian ship) authorized by a letter of mark (also called “letter of commission” or “letter of race”), To attack in time of war any vessel flying the flag of enemy States, and particularly its merchant traffic, leaving the war fleet to attack the military objectives. Privateers should therefore not be confused with pirates since they carry out their activities according to the laws of war, only in time of war and with the authorization of their government. Captured, they are entitled to prisoner of war status.

Robert Surcouf was a privateer captain at the age of twenty, and Surcouf successively commanded several buildings: the Émilie, the Cartier, the Clarisse, the Confiance and the Revenant. He will do dozens of fights and twice he will face two to one: in February 1799 against Anna-Maria and Coturbok then in January 1800 against Louisia and Mercury. It will total between 1795 and 1801, then 1807 and 1808, no less than 44 takes of which two – the Triton and the Kent – will enter the legend.